A High-Stakes Table

With his sober blue suit and quiet way of talking, Andy (The Rock) Bloch might easily be mistaken for a smooth Washington lobbyist were it not for his tell. On his lapel is a red-white-and-blue ribbon speckled with tiny spades, diamonds, hearts and clubs. Bloch, 38, holds two engineering degrees from MIT and a law degree from Harvard. But he makes his living playing cards, and he was in Washington to improve the odds that Congress would lift its year-old ban on Internet poker.

Bloch was one of about 80 players who attended the first ever "DC Fly In," sponsored by...